The bride by Hara Katsiki

Eternal love and broken vows are the themes of the Bride Ballad, a poem by E.A. Poe published in 1937. This recent work by BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki is a visual tribute to this poem. Jamming with Federico De Madrazo’s Portrait de Maria Dolorès de Aldama, Hara added digital elements that clash with the classic portrait style, giving new life to a 1855 painting.

Hara Katsiki wins Art Takes Miami Motion + Sound Category Award

Congratulations to BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki for winning the Art Takes Miami competition in the category of Motion + Sound. This competition is curated by SCOPE Art Show and See.Me, also known as Artists Wanted.

Hara submitted a portfolio of work on Artists Wanted: http://inklovespaper.see.me/atm2012 Check it out to see works like Opium, her animated GIF series “Looking Backward / Moving Forward,” as well as gold ink on black paper illustrations (Peruvian Paso, Garden of Eden, The Golden Age of Perikles), sculptures and fashion works like Shesha and Vythos.

BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 3rd annual SELF creative competition. The call went out to artists around the world, looking for stories “of who you are as an artist.” The decision was made by a panel of judges: Dan Burns, Associate Director of Galerie Lelong; Natasha Conland, Curator of Contemporary Art at Auckland Art Gallery; Cosmin Costinas, Executive Director and Curator of Para/Site Art Space; Clara Drummond, Independent Curator; and Jack Becker, Executive Director of Forecast Public Art and Public Art Review.

Hara’s artist statement explains her creative influences, and artistic process, how her birthplace in Athens and her current homebase in Berlin both contributed to the artist she is today.

Hara Katsiki in OUKAN exhibition beginning July 5th

BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki will be exhibiting her work entitled, “Sheesha” – a collaboration with the fashion designer Tatachristiane – at Oukan starting this Thursday July 5th. Hara created the image of the mythological creature imprinted onto the coat, as well as the documentary image shown here for the blog.

Located on Kronenstrasse 71 (Kronen Strasse means Crown Street in German, and Oukan is Japanese for crown), the boutique has a fascinating background.

When the earthquake and tsunami cancelled the Tokyo Fashion Week in March 2011, a group of Japanese designers were looking for a place to showcase their work. Berlin answered, and a charity project, Tokyo Gakudan (Tokyo Orchestra), was presented at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in July 2011, with 40 Japanese designers showing their collections.

Natalie Viaux and Huy Thong Tran Mai were responsible for the Tokyo Gakudan Runway Show at Mercedes-Benz Studio. They are also the masterminds behind OUKAN 71, inspired by the fashion show.

Oukan is an avant-garde boutique that is part fashion and art showroom/shop with a tea room and restaurant. On two open-concept floors, OUKAN 71 offers a constantly changing selection of fashion, accessories and design, much of it currently Scandinavian, but all with a Japanese feel.

eCollage by Hara Katsiki

BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki is particularly fascinated by old pictures, especially from the Victorian era. To create her series of illustrations, “eCollage,” she transformed this source material by layering a mysterious and surreal world on top, allowing her hand to move randomly to make drawings inspired by ancestral memory and personal revelation. Hara leaves it up to you, the viewer, to create your own story, rather than try to figure out her intent, when looking at these “eCollages.” MORE

Hara Katsiki for Popular Operations NY

When BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki was working as an art director and illustrator for Pulk Berlin, she designed a brochure for Popular Operations, a NY-based creative collective of interdisciplinary thinkers, analysts, professionals and artists helping business, government and social institutions operate harmoniously within the complex interlocking cultures of tomorrow.

In the brochure, the main points of focus were foresight, consultation and creation. Hara was given lots of artistic freedom to visually interpret Popular Operations’ positioning and goal in the market. Considering the company’s philosphy, she used strong heavy typography, bright vivid colors, and handdrawn technical illustrations to give the brochure a fresh and clean overall feeling.The aim was to create a direct, straight, analytic, unpretentious and dynamic result. MORE

Hara Katsiki solo show debut tomorrow 9/22 at West Berlin Gallery

BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki will debut her latest work tomorrow in her very first solo show entitled, “Utopia” at the West Berlin Gallery.

This exhibition gives viewers a sneak peak into Hara’s fantastically romantic inner dream world. Always keen to experiment, this daring artist transcends the boundaries of imagination. Using her dreams as the main source of inspiration, Katsiki was inclined to define/refine her work for this show by using three primary colors: black, white and gold. Hara is also using ink on paper and wood, creating abstract pieces reminiscent of what she
describes as “nature’s unspoken beauty”.

The show at West Berlin Gallery will feature 33 pieces ranging from black and white paper, to works on wood, as well as drawings on printed fashion photographs. The exhibition will also showcase an installation that is bound to be the highlight of the show!

“Opium: A trip into the subconsciousness” by Hara Katsiki

BRANSCH artist Hara Katsiki’s “Opium” won the Young Illustrators Award in the animation category at Illustrative Berlin.

“Opium” transports the viewer on a trip into kaleidoscopic world: traces of light appearing and disappearing into the dark, floating floral and ornamental patterns, and creatures of one’s imagination arising and dissolving. While watching these transformations, one becomes intrigued – the line between clarity and fantasy is wonderfully blurred. MORE

BRANSCH welcomes Hara Katsiki!

Creep Show

Hara Katsiki, also known as “inklovespaper,” is a visual artist and awardwinning art director, born in Greece. Though mainly known for illustration, she expresses her creative vision across all types of media: graphic design, animation, costume design and music.

Her personal work delves into realms of the subconscious, is populated by fantastic figures and otherworldly creatures, and decorated by ornamental patterns. She is familiar with drawing tools, both analog (ink, watercolors, graphite, acrylics, etc) and digital (Adobe CS, including After Effects) and freely uses them all when realizing her projects.

Currently, she is based in Berlin and her illustration work has garnered recognition like the 2010 Swatch Young Illustrator’s Award (“Opium”), and the official Alfa Romeo fine art prints collection (“Synthetic Imagination”). Her fine art is also being showcased in her first solo exhibition at the West Berlin Gallerie in this upcoming September.